28 Mar Do You Know About Miranda Rights, Private Attorneys, and Public Defenders?
The Miranda Rights read as follows: “…you have the right to remain silent; you have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford one, one will be appointed to you.” You might think – ‘okay, maybe the court will appoint me an attorney, that way I can save some money. Well, that’s not really how it goes, and there are more than several different kinds of attorneys. Some attorneys will have the ability to help you out tremendously, while others will not.
If you’re hiring a defense attorney, you’ll need to hire one who specializes or has extensive experience in representing defendants charged with the same or similar crime as you. For example, if you’re arrested for theft, hiring a family attorney wouldn’t be the best idea. Private attorneys will charge you a fee, but that means they will be more dedicated to your case.
If you cannot afford a private attorney, the court will appoint one to you. Court-appointed attorneys are also called public defenders. Public defenders are paid by the government and not the client. They are often juggling multiple cases at once so they have less time to dedicate to each individual case overall. Your defense, with a public defender’s representation, may not stand as strong as it possibly would if you were to hire a private attorney.
As with anything, the quality of customer service you receive is proportional to what you can or cannot afford. Hopefully, if you choose to pay for bail with a bail bond, you’ll have extra money, which you can use towards hiring a private attorney if you truly believe that you need a private attorney. Chances are, depending on the severity of your case, you’re going to want a private attorney.
To learn more about bail bonds, and the entire bail bonds process, please feel free to contact San Fernando Bail Bonds today!